China's March social financing increased by 5.23 trillion yuan, with new RMB loans totaling 2.99 trillion yuan and M2 growing 8.5% year-over-year. US Military: Will block the Strait of Hormuz; Israeli Prime Minister: Ceasefire with Iran may soon end. OPEC's March production plummeted by 7.88 million barrels per day, marking the largest single-month drop in history. Kuwait raised its May crude oil selling price for Asia by $17 per barrel. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz triggered a chain reaction, sending aluminum prices soaring to a four-year high. Governor Ueda's remarks turned more cautious, causing expectations for a Bank of Japan rate hike in April to drop sharply. Goldman Sachs reported steady growth in Q1 revenue and net income, with equity trading revenues setting new Wall Street records for two consecutive quarters. UBS raised its forecast for Broadcom's 2027 TPU shipments to 7 million units, along with upward revisions for its three-year revenue and earnings projections. Following the US, UK financial regulators will discuss Anthropic's new model risks with banks. Alibaba Cloud: Adjusted free API quotas for Standard and Professional tier users and introduced pay-as-you-go support. The Nikkei 225 closed down 0.7%, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.06%, and the Hang Seng Index fell 0.90%.
